therubyofkou

[therubyofkou]

Kougyoku groaned internally in mortification as the other rubbed away the last of her tears, though she made no move to push his hands away as she couldn't deny the attention was comforting in its own way. She could only imagine the state her make up was in and after he was through she stubbornly wiped under her eyes again in hope of removing any smudged mascara from her damp eyelashes.

When she finally turned her gaze to meet that of the boy in front of her, Sharrkan looked as if his face might split in two, with the way he was smiling so brightly and just as she was about to smile in return she thought back on his words.

"Hey, I'm not trying to!" She sniffled again before laughing at herself quietly. "It's just hard for me to stop once I've started is all." Rising an eyebrow in mock consideration, Kougyoku continued to think back on the boy's words from when he had rattled on about protecting her from all the mean men in the world. "And I can take of myself thank you very much. I'm not that weak!"

Though the words seemed harsh they were spoken with a teasing tone as she poked him in the chest for good measure to somehow emphasis her point. She tried to ignore the feeling of the hard muscle her finger met as she pulled her hand away to smirk triumphantly up at Sharrkan. "But whether I am strong enough to take care of myself doesn't really matter if we hangout anyways so..."

As he reached for the door, Kougyoku couldn't help but trail off. She could only imagine what the other students still in the hallway would think once they emerged after they had both been in the closet together for quite some time now. All of a sudden Kougyoku felt a rush of adrenaline as she decided what she wanted to do.

"Yes, let's"

 Before the words had registered to the boy standing beside her, Kougyoku reached for his wrist once more and bolted from the closet with the boy in tow. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so bold or reckless, but apparently that was the effect this boy had on her and at the moment she couldn't find it in herself to complain.

"How's the beach sound to you!" She yelled breathlessly over her shoulder as they made there way out of the academic building, down the stairs, and towards the coast with their backpacks jumping spastically the whole way.

Valentine's Day [Sharrkan & Kougyoku]

Judging a book by its cover is something that a lot of people did these days, and Sharrkan thought that this was why she had disliked him from the start. Sure, he could be a brat that caused trouble in class, and sure he hung out with the wrong people, but that didn’t mean that he was going to hurt anyone, or get anyone else in trouble with him. He understood why people would avoid him, but it irritated the hell out of him, and he was sure that this is what happened here!.. This time though, he wasn’t irritated. He couldn’t find it in him to be angry at this girl at all, and he had no idea why.

The limited light didn’t stop Sharrkan to continue to gaze into the girl’s eyes, taking in their beauty as he remained there. He couldn’t help himself. They were just so hypnotizing. Sharrkan noticed that the girl started to blush, which made Sharrkan’s heart beat a little fast for a small moment. It was cute! Oh so cute! He just wanted to hug her and tell her how cute she was at this moment, but he couldn’t quite make himself do it. The last thing he wanted was to mess this up a second time going…

“.. Sure you weren’t.”

However, when he noticed that she had started to cry he had instantly raised his hand and placed it upon her blushing cheek, wiping away the tears that had ran down her face. It was a shame that she was ruining her beautiful face by allowing herself to cry, but hey sometimes he wished that he could cry as easily as she could. He had then decided to pull her into a hug to comfort her. Hey, that was the only thing he could think of, and it’s one step closer to getting closer to her right? He had wanted to hug her for a while now!

“Hey hey it’s alright, just stop crying okay? I understand why you would think of me that way if people keep playing around with you, but trust me I’m not that type of guy, and I’m going to protect you from the guys who wants to play with you. I’ll kick their asses if they even dare look at you never mind try it on you.”

Hearing her reply caused him to chuckle and grin. He was possibly the happiest guy in the entire world right now! He broke the hug and looked down at her, remaining to smirk like an idiot, but hey he didn’t care about that right now! He was happy!

“Oi, I would love to hang out with you for the day, so don’t think like that alright?”

He then put his handle on the door before speaking to her again, getting ready to leave it and take her out on a date. But man think about the people on the outside of this cupboard! They would think the worst possible things if they saw them both coming out of it!

“Shall we go then? I’ll take you somewhere to cheer you up, alright?”

[therubyofkou]

Kougyoku kept her gaze trained on the marble of the palace floors as she prepared to excuse herself from the king's presence and end this embarrassing spectacle before it could escalate any further. She could only assume that Sinbad thought her a blushing bimbo at this point and how attractive she most appear to him - as in not at all.

The princess took a deep calming breath before she made to politely take her leave only for the king to speak first, which made her words catch in her throat. She bit her lip and continued to avoid his gaze for as long as possible without being rude, knowing the second she did heat would rise to her checks once more.

As if one cue, Sinbad reached for one of her hands, which then forced her to turn her face up and met his eyes. She damned her face for being so revealing and could feel her face begin to blush once more from the close proximity to the other. Though she tried valiantly to force the blood to rush anywhere but her cheeks, it was not too successful to say the least.

Kougyoku could do little to fight his insistent words, especially with his large hand swallowing her own in a warm embrace and his deep hazel gaze showing he was not to be questioned a second time. "O-Of course your majesty. I apologize again for the inconvenience."

Midnight Mischeif || {Sinbad & Kougyoku}

It seemed like every time Sinbad would make a comment or chuckle or even do anything, the Princess would always seem to go into a flutter. It clicked with Sinbad that she seemed to have romantic feelings towards him but whether he returned them was another thing. Though one thing was for sure, was it really worth blushing over literally everything? He didn’t dare question, however.

He held up a hand and continued to flash a smile towards the timid princess below him.

"It’s alright, Princess. Please, do not fret. I wish to keep you at safety and to ensure of a positive outcome for the pleasure of both of our countries. You are a guest here and should be treated with pleasure and respect."

He took a hold of her hand gently and pulled her in closely, smiling at her. This wasn’t anything suggestive at all but it was something to lure her in closer at least.

"Come on, don’t worry. I will escort you back, and won’t take no for an answer. It is my pleasure."

[therubyofkou]

Kougyoku had totally lost track of time, simply getting caught up in the dips and curves of the young man's hand she currently held in her lap. As a princess she had received very little intimacy even from within her own family. It was not customary for royalty to be so weak as to need constant physical affirmation from their own parents, even a warm embrace, but that made the princess crave such innocent touch no less as she grew older.

In the future if she were to every look back on this moment she would probably be terribly embarrassed to remember her obvious naiveté showing through, but taking into account her background she had never had the chance to touch another person so causally before. Kougyoku was trying to make the most of the situation without scaring off her new found companion. At his unexpected question the princess lifted her gaze from worn tanned skin to the other's smiling face. 

"…Uh-well they have such a unique texture compared to my own. Sorry you probably think my interest in them strange."

The princess went to release his hand only to find it along with its twin under her arms not a moment after the Heliohaptian asked if she was ticklish. She did not have enough time to process the question before his fingers were moving along her sides ruthlessly.

Kougyoku opened her mouth to demand he stop at once, but all that came from between her lips where continuous peels of unrestrained laughter as his hands danced across her skin. She knew almost anyone could walk by the patio and see them together quite easily, but the princess discovered at the moment she honestly could care less. If someone did indeed see them she would just have to deal with the judgmental stares and whispered gossip at another time because almost nothing in the world could keep her from relishing in this precious physical contact even if it had her giggling like a child.

"P-Please…I can't breath!"

The princess continued to fruitless push against his chest to keep up the appearance she wanted him to stop as she grasped for breath in between fits of laughter. Now on her back, Kougyoku continued to wriggle on the ground in attempt to escape Sharrkan's tickling fingers as a small part of her subconscious begged her to stop such nonsense because the stains the grass was going to leave on her royal robes would be atrocious, but again the princess couldn't find the effort to care. It felt too good to act so carefree for once in her life.

The Sindrian Gardens {Sharrkan & Kougyoku}

Sharrkan had guessed that she was the type of person to get embarrassed from compliments, but hey there was more where that came from! The Heliohaptian was simply smiling towards the girl as he listened to her speaking to him, muttering her ‘thank you’ to him as if her voice had suddenly fluttered away, but he heard it.. Just about. He placed his hand upon her head and patted it lightly, making she he didn’t mess up her hair.

“Hey, it’s alright. Just speaking the truth to you.”

He had also figured that she was daydreaming when she was listening to him speaking to her, and she still seemed so fascinated with his hands. He hadn’t known anyone to be like that about someone’s hands before, but maybe she hadn’t seen anyone with such worn hands before. Well he was happy with the way they were, and he found them much more convenient. He failed to remove his smile as he looked at her, watching the way she was acting around his hands. She was picking at the grass as well, which obviously meant that she wasn’t into this conversation, that or she was too flustered to even pay attention. Ah well, she asked about it in the first place…

Her reaction to him giving her his hand must have been the best he had ever seen he had to admit, but he didn’t react to it in a bad way… Well out in the open anyways. He laughed mentally as he seen it, finding it extremely cute for her to be like this because of someone’s hands and how overworked they were. His eyes had then looked back down after winking at him, watching her hand grip at his as he held it out. She obviously hand heard what he had said which was cool. There were plenty more times where he could call her beautiful for her to hear it.

”Do you like them..?”

He then heard her ask if they were ticklish, to which he just simply shook his head, but then something came to him which he had decided to at least attempt. He looked at the girl with a playful glint shining in his eyes. He then wondered where to pick before he lifted his both hands and decided to attempt to tickle her under her armpits.

”What? You mean like this?”

Sharrkan hoped to god that he wasn’t going to get punched for this. He was only trying to be playful and maybe see that beautiful smile of hers.

[therubyofkou]

Kougyoku couldn't help but smile at the other girl once she heard her kind words of reassurance. Her gaze stayed trained on the other as Morgiana looked towards the sky and continued to speak of Sindria and the home-like atmosphere it has created for her over the past few weeks.

The princess' eyes softened as their eyes met once more and the Fanalis went on to talk about her two other companions, Aladdin and Alibaba. Though she still held some unjustifiable animosity towards the blue-haired magi, Kougyoku could honestly say after her last encounter with the supposed prince of Balbadd she hoped they stay friends. She couldn't help but envy the easy way Morgiana had formed so many friendships since arriving in Sindria, but she hoped one day she might be able to call the Fanalis friend rather than foe, though she knew little of what the future would hold.

Kougyoku let out a soft sigh before replying. "I think it is only wise to feel concern for their safety as they are people you hold close to your heart. I can easily share in your concern even though I know little of what is to come, but I think it foolish to not prepare for the worst. Especially with so many countries and lives at stake." Though the princess knew little of her brother's plans for world domination currently, Kougyoku could only imagine after encountering her cousin, Hakuryuu, earlier that day that something significant was rippling just under the survive just waiting to spring forth. The thought alone left a deep seated worry bloom within her, but she tried to look somewhat reassuring in front of the other.

Lazying by the Lagoon {Morgiana & Kougyoku}

Morgiana watched the girl, wondering what sort of things were going through her head. She had never really been very good at reading people…but if Alibaba trusted her then there wasn’t anything to worry about..or so she hoped, anyway.

"I don’t think that’s such a bad thing." The young Fanalis mused, glancing up at the sky. "I agree though..Sindria is probably the closest thing I’ve felt to a home." To being free. She truly had come to love it here. She glanced back at the princess for a moment before her eyes turned toward the soft grass.

"Perhaps it’s foolish of me to assume…but I can imagine how it feels." She murmured. "I feel the same way when it comes to Alibaba-san and Aladdin-san.." She honestly hoped that whatever came their way, they would be able to come out on top and still be the same smiling friends. 

"I worry about them greatly…especially with everything that’s happening lately.."

[therubyofkou]

Hearing the other woman's calm greeting did wonders to soothe the tension she had not realized till just now had been slowly collecting in her shoulders and neck. The person knocking at the door could have been a host of different individuals, but she was more than slightly relieved to find it was indeed Hakuei. Though she didn't know her eldest cousin well, Kougyoku could never convince herself to truly hate the other. But that wasn't to say she didn't wish Hakuei wasn't quite as close with her beloved brother, Kouen.

She knew it was probably just petty jealousy, but for someone who had so few people who vaguely acknowledged her existence within the palace walls, Kougyoku was loathe to let anyone else steal their valued attention. But even with all this considered, the other woman's kind demeanor and fierce determination had slowly been chipping away at Kougyoku resolve to dislike her over the years and instead made it quite difficult not to admire the independent leader the first princess had become. Kougyoku hadn't been a permanent resident of the palace till the middle of her childhood and even after living there for several years she still gave the then royal family a wide berth, which of course included Hakuei.

Luckily as the eighth princess had aged it became easier and easier to approach the other woman for conversation and she soon discovered she rather liked Hakuei company. "I've been quite well, thank you for asking. I actually just got back from Sindria not two weeks ago. It's such a lovely country."

Kougyoku couldn't keep the wistful look that crossed her face as the memories of her trip to the mysterious island flashed in her mind's eye. She shook her head slightly as if to clear it before turning to the other. "Have you ever been?"

Supposedly Simple Greetings {Hakuei and Kougyoku}

      ✵At the sound of a young woman’s voice, Hakuei gave a sigh of relief. She entered the study in full, pulling the door partially closed behind her before moving to approach her stepsister.

      Compared to what she could have possibly been facing, Kougyoku was a godsend. Though she wasn’t the best of friends with the youngest of the sisters, Hakuei found it easy to be around her. She wasn’t quite sure why, but her little stepsister’s presence was relaxing, to say the least. Again, she supposed it was likely because her other siblings were quite tense in comparison. Despite facing some of the same issues they did, Kougyoku seemed to always have a happy composure, which was a breath of fresh air for the first princess.

      "Hello there," Hakuei greeted once more, this time smiling back at her sibling. She came to a halt in front of her, briefly glancing down at the texts she was studying. Another thing that she found they had in common. Unlike her sisters, she always seemed interested in knowing the current state of affairs and playing an active part in the Kou Empire. Well, then again Hakuei supposed that was sort of a forced interest for both them. Being dungeon capturers and all, it was hard for them to sit on the sidelines and watch from afar. "Long time no see. What have you been up to, Kougyoku?"

[therubyofkou]

Reply Status

Waiting on:

Sinbad

Owe: 

Sharrkan (2)

Hakuei

Morgiana

[therubyofkou]

Kougyoku could feel the tension and apprehension melting from her shoulders as his words flows past her ears. She found it difficult to keep her anger when he continued to sound completely sincere. How he could come across as a totally different guy from a distance to the person he was now was completely baffling to her, but she couldn't deny that the Sharrkan who stood before her in the middle of the janitor's closet was not who she had originally thought.

Her eyes were just now starting to adjust to the limited light within the cramped space, which allowed her to make out the small smile now lifting the corners of his mouth. She found her gaze stuck there until he spoke again in earnest, his cheek now resting against her own.

She couldn't stop the blush that came back full force at his kind words as she trained her eyes on her shoes. After comprehending what Sharrkan said she turned her head stubbornly in denial before Kougyoku roughly rubbed her curled fists under eyes.

"I wasn't crying!"

Even as she made the statement, Kougyoku continued to sniffle and quickly remove the remaining moisture from the corners of her eyes. That was the last thing she needed. She had already embarrassed herself enough without him seeing her actually cry. She wanted to try and leave this encounter with at least the same amount of dignity she came with, but that was slowly looking to be an impossible goal. Kougyoku tried to keep the venom from her words as she tried to mutter out an apology to the boy though it was difficult as she still felt very out of her depth.

". . .I-I'm sorry for assuming to know what kind of guy you were. I just haven't had the best of luck with guys in the past, if that wasn't obvious enough already after today."

She took a deep breath before continuing as she wasn't sure how her response would be received, especially after the way she had acted before. Kougyoku knew if she didn't just spit it out she wouldn't end up making a blubbering fool of herself so she scrounged up her courage before blurting out the rest of her reply.

"I understand if you don't want to anymore, but I would be willing to hangout today. Only if you want to of course . . ."  

Valentine's Day [Sharrkan & Kougyoku]

Sharrkan could not believe this was happening. People were whispering and laughing as he went past about the situation that he had found himself in with this one girl that he did not want to let go of so easily. He would have turned around and kicked their asses by now but this was defiantly not the time! He had someone to go and cheer up. Someone to clear a misunderstanding with and that was much more important than some stupid rumours about Sharrkan getting in a row with a girl and hurting her like he did by playing with her feelings. He knew the truth and that was all he cared about. He cared for her- No. He loved her!

He gritted his teeth as he went around the corner, noticing that she was there. Man she looked upset! You’re an idiot Sharrkan! Look how bad she was! He knew that in his eyes he didn’t do anything wrong, because she thought he was playing with her when he wasn’t. It was because of all these damn popular kids going around and messing with girl’s hearts! Sharrkan wasn’t the type of person to do that, so when he was labelled a player by the girl, it stabbed him in the heart somewhat. He had to admit. The rejection hurt him more than he thought it was, but he was lucky he was good at hiding those kind of emotions, otherwise he would have been crying by now.

So, she had snatched his hand away from him, which he had expected from her to be honest, but when she looked at him there was this odd pause before she grabbed his hand and pulled him somewhere, pulling them into the Janitor’s closest! Woah, this was moving much faster than he thought- Goddamn it Sharrkan, now’s not the time to think like that! His green eyes softly met with her beautiful pink eyes, allowing himself to get somewhat lost in them as he listened to her. Man she sounded somewhat angry, but he wasn’t going to lose his temper.

"You’re misunderstanding something. I meant what I said. I do actually like you and I want to take you out to show you just how much.. You know, I wouldn’t play a girl like you, because that’s not the type of guy that I am.."

He allowed a small smile grow towards her after he spoke to her, letting her know that he wasn’t angry and that he wanted to support her with everything. He wanted to be by her side from now on and even though it went off on a bad start, Sharrkan wasn’t going to back down just yet!

"So please, at least think about it.. And stop crying alright? Girls like you shouldn’t be crying. They should be smiling and laughing."

[therubyofkou]

Kougyoku picked up her pace as much as physically possible without actually running in hopes of distancing herself from the boy she had just yelled out in front of a good portion of the student body. As she made to turn down another hallway in hopes of getting to her class somewhat on time, Kougyoku faintly heard Sharrkan's voice trailing after her. Multiple emotions that weren't all negative began to swirl in her abdomen once more before she realize she had taken the wrong turn and was now in wrong building.

She took a deep breath and waited for the inevitable. The only way to her class was back the way she had come, the direction in which Sharrkan was chasing her from to be more exact. Sighing in defeat, Kougyoku shakily swiped at the tears that were still stubbornly running down her pink cheeks and tried to get control over her breathing to little avail.

What else could she say to get him to understand? How far was he going to take this joke? In all honesty she really had nothing left to say to him and the gusto from early had quickly evaporated the second she took off running. She was never so outspoken, but sometimes she had trouble controlling her temper and today had been one of those times. Her pulse quickened as she heard his footsteps on the floor of the hallway coming nearer and nearer to where she stood. As time seemed to be moving in slow motion all of a sudden, she couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut, praying that this was all just a horrible, horrible nightmare.

When she felt him grip her wrist lightly, Kougyoku instinctively turned to face him and pull it away until their eyes met. She was completely taken aback by the raw sincerity and remorse she found there. He had never shown such an expression to her before and it made her pause in her movements long enough for him to speak.

His soft words almost came across as a plea and Kougyoku was unable to resist their call. She then realized, like Sharrkan had helpfully pointed out, that they were being not so subtle watched by the majority of the students still in the hallway. On impulse, Kougyoku turned her hand within Sharrkan's grasp returning the gesture and yanked him in the direction of the nearest door, which just happened to be a janitor's closet.

For some reason once they had both roughly closed the door in unison, the only sound left in the cramped pace was their rapid breathing. Kougyoku continued to pant from the shot of adrenaline coursing through her veins before realizing she was flush with Sharrkan's front. She thought about reaching for the light switch, thinking it would defuse the situation, but that would only result in bringing her even closer to the other's body, which felt like furnace from the way it was radiating heat through her clothes. So instead, Kougyoku turned her hide to the side, even though she knew he couldn't really see her face, as she finally broke the silence.

"We're alone. Now out with it."

Valentine's Day [Sharrkan & Kougyoku]

Sharrkan was a popular guy, and everyone in the school knew him, or at least knew of him. He was good looking, good at the clubs that he did and had tons of friends. Though, the swordsman didn’t tend to care for that – sort of, he liked the attention from the girl – because he just wanted a decent education and a girlfriend to go with it. The girls that were always flocking around him were annoying, always screaming and giggling whenever they saw him, so when he eyes had laid upon one quiet girl that seemed to remain by herself, he knew instantly that she was the one.

Now, he had no idea that he was going to get rejected here and then, because this swordsman was never rejected before by a girl and him asking her out on a date. Her reactions to his words told him that this hadn’t happened to her before either. He silently waited for her to answer him, still smiling towards her as he did so. He knew her from class, being seated by her in science and being her Lab Partner for the remainder of the course, but he was alright with that. Helping cute girls in science was no problem to him at all. He may not act like it, but Sharrkan had a good brain on his shoulders, and he was pretty damn good at using it.. He just needed to be bothered to actually use it.

He didn’t want to embarrass the girl in front of his friends, so he decided to go alone, telling them that he would simply meet up with them all later. He didn’t have Fencing Club today either, so this was a good opportunity to get the girl he wanted and take her out somewhere to spoil her for Valentine’s Day. He wanted her. He honestly did want her and the girl didn’t seem to think this. How did he know? Well that was because she had just barged past him, pushing past him and running away. Did she honestly think he was joking? Man.. This was a kick in the gut, especially for Sharrkan who had just got rejected for the first time in his entire life… What to do..

“H-Huh?! Wait a minute! You’ve got it all wrong!”

Sharrkan shouted after he down the corridor as he watched her leave, looking like she was about to cry. It was no use. He had turned around and she was gone down the corridor quicker than he could blink. He frowned and sighed before thinking about whether he should go after her or whether he should just leave it there.. Well, he felt like a right jerk for upsetting her even though she misunderstood, so he decided to follow her. He nodded to himself before picking up the pace himself, running after her until he was close enough to grab her wrist gently and pull her back to him.

”O-Oi! Listen to me a minute! You’ve got it all wrong!.. Can we at least talk about this somewhere without people listening?”

All of the people staring at them right now… His repetition was going to go down the drain, but right now he didn’t really care. He wanted Kougyoku, and he was willing to give up his popularity to get her.

[therubyofkou]

花嫁

[therubyofkou]

[therubyofkou]

"Hey beautiful, I want to ask something. Sharrkan smirked towards the girl as he spoke, but soon found himself leaning a little closer to the girl to ask his question. "Do you wanna be my Valentine?"

As she made her way to her afternoon sociology class, Kougyoku saw him walking purposely towards her. Turning to see if there was someone behind her, - as there was little chance, zero actually, that the star of the fencing team was actually looking at her - Kougyoku found that the nearest student to her person was quite a ways off. She took in this information just as the senior stopped directly in front of her in the middle of the main campus walkway with a smirk tugging at his lips.

Sharrkan was his name and if Kougyoku had only five words to describe the attractive almost college graduate, they would probably be: Way. Out. Of. Her. League. Upon her arrival to the local university, she was under no impression that college was going to be any different from high school for her, well socially at least. Yes, living on campus gave her more freedom from her parents and possessive older brothers and when she wasn’t arguing with her roommate constanlty she was often content to study in her room or catch up on a tv show she had missed the previous week on her own. So you could safely assume that she was a bit more than surprised when during the first week of her second semester after finding her a seat in her Introduction to Biology lab she had turned in her chair to find the handsome young man seated beside her in her. She would soon be told by her instructor that this meant he would be her lab partner for the remainder of the course. She was less than ecstatic.

The first few weeks of lab passed by them without a hitch and though she was prone to blushing at his more than forward comments, by the fourth lab she was able to reject his flirtatious advances quite well and focus on getting the assignments done on time for once. She had never seen him out of class until today, which had truly been a blessing since she wouldn’t be surprised if he traveled with all his friends wherever he went. The last thing she needed right now was to make a fool of herself in front of the university’s most attractive seniors. This allowed her to be slightly put at easy when he approached her by himself only for her to realize seconds later that he had just called her beautiful in front of any student within earshot.

Kougyoku took a deep breath in an attempt to stifle the blush that was now racing across her cheeks before meeting the other’s gaze. She quickly became aware that he was slowly inching his face closer to her’s as he continued to speak. Then she felt more than heard his question as his breath whispered across her bottom lip while he spoke. As the unexpected spark of arousal hit her, Kougyoku shoved the boy away from her on reflex as she whispered her reply, her face turning an even darker hue as she averted her gaze. 

"Do I-I wanna be your what…?"

She was unable to keep the disbelief and shock from her voice as her eyes shifted to stare at the other with a look of pure bewilderment upon her face. His Valentine? Seriously? He must just be messing with her, again, just like every other time before in lab. But this was a new low. Didn’t everyone know that you don’t jokingly ask someone out on Valentine’s day? Or any day for that matter … Kougyoku could count the number of times she had been asked out on one hand and that was including the time her brothers had forced her childhood friend Alibaba to take her to her senior prom. It was one of her more embarrassing moments during high school experience to say the least. As these thoughts continued to swirl in her mind so did feelings of hurt, embarrassment and anger swirl in her stomach, causing her to forget herself and lash out at the boy still standing in front of her even with students continuing to walk past.

"You think just because you are some hot jock that gives you the right to just mess around with people’s feelings?! Cause it doesn’t! Go find your kicks somewhere else, I’m gonna be late for class."

Without so much as another word Kougyoku shoved past the stunned boy and tried to keep the tears that pricked the corners of her eyes from falling down her burning cheeks as she quicken her pace in an attempt to get away from multiple pairs of eyes that were currently stabbing her back.

[therubyofkou]

Even as her cheeks warmed at the simple praise, Kougyoku couldn't stop herself from continuing to smile in response to the Heliohapt's kind words. She knew that the man was probably just flattering her, but his compliment still caused her to feel a small bit of joy. Since she wasn't someone who received compliments often, Kougyoku treasured each and every one of them when she did. The princess tried in vain to deflect his sweet words in an attempt to appear modest, when in fact it was blatant insecurity, but ended up just gaping at the man before muttering a quiet, "Thank you," with her gaze downcast and a blush stealing across her cheeks once more, but this time a shade darker.

When she no longer felt his eyes directly on her as he began to speak once more, Kougyoku quietly listened to the Heliohapt elaborate on his skills with forging swords as well as wielding them since his arrival in Sindria with her eyes stubbornly trained on the ground. She briefly picked at a blade of grass in front of her bent knees before returning her gaze to study his worn hands once more. She lost track of time and didn't realize that Sharrkan had spoken to her until his tanned hand came fully into her field of vision. Kougyoku shook her head slightly as if to clear her previous thoughts before processing the man's question.

The princess' eyes widen as she met the winking gaze of the man beside her. He had obviously caught her staring, how embarrassing. Before she could blush herself to fainting however, Kougyoku compulsively reached for the hand offered to her without a word, not knowing the next time she would have the opportunity to do such a thing. She bit her lip in concentration and a bit embarrassment as she attempted to memorize the dips and curves of the battle-worn skin beneath her fingertips with innocent curiosity. She had never touched a man so intimately before since princesses never shook hands, they curtseyed. When she had had her fill of touching the skin on the outside of his hand, the princess flipped it palm up so she could lightly drag the pads of her fingers along the seams and wrinkles that covered its surface.

Kougyoku couldn't imagine that her gentle touches weren't at least a bit ticklish on the Heliohapt's skin and peeked up at him as her fingers continued to explore to see just what kind of expression the man held upon his face. As their eyes met the princess was unable to stop the curious words that tumbled quietly from her lips.

"Your hand is so rough. Does-does this tickle?"

The Sindrian Gardens

The Heliohaptian watched her as she somewhat relaxed in front of him with every response he had given to what she had been staying. It was good to see that she was finally getting relaxed and normal. Sure, this took time when you’re royalty and not used to it considering that you were born and raised to be a certain way within a family. Here though, he knew that she wasn’t surrounded by family, so he wanted her to be as relaxed as possible. Hey, he loved seeing the smiles on people’s faces! Nothing beat that.

The flower crown that he had been shown was messy, but he could tell that she had tried her hardest to make it. He smiled as he looked at it, honestly not interested in flower crowns or anything, but hey he was still going to compliment it, because that’s what keeps spirits up! That and Sharrkan wanted to compliment her. He was a flirt after all!

”Hey, they’re pretty good. Keep at it!”

It was nice to see that the Princess has a normal look upon her face now, and she was smiling! This was a good thing of course! Smiles were great, and Sharrkan thought that it was good to have a smile upon your face no matter what the situation. He smirked playfully before speaking to her, chuckling as he did so.

”That smile of yours is cute, you should smile more!”

He then returned to what she had originally asked him, noting that she was rather surprised- excited at that. The silver-haired male nodded, allowing his childish smirk to move back into a normal smile towards the Princess. He was happy at the moment, and he was sure that she was enjoying herself being able to act the way that she was towards him. He then looked at the hilt of his sword before continuing to speak to her, telling her an answer to her surprised question.

”Yeah, I can forge swords. I don’t do it that often unless someone wants it repaired or something, but I enjoy doing it. I got taught how to do it by my teacher and I guess I kinda stuck doing it for Sindria… Well, kind of. Like I said, I only repair them nowadays.. Considering I like my sword.”

As he spoke, he allowed his eyes to gaze over at the girl who had been listening to his words, noticing that she was staring at his hands. He looked down at them before looking back at her, moving his hand out for her touch them. He thought that she was probably looking to see how worn his hands were, but in all honesty he liked them like this. They weren’t troublesome when you held a sword with blisters or anything else that irritates the skin, and you can wield a sword longer when they are like this.

”You seem fascinated with my hands. Do you want to touch them, beautiful?”

Sharrkan winked towards her as he spoke, continuing to hold out his hand for her to hold onto, or at least touch to kill her curiosity. As long as he got to touch her soft hands in the process, he didn’t mind what she did. He kinda liked her enough for her to do other things anyway…

[therubyofkou]

Ever since her arrival back to the Kou Empire just a few weeks ago, Kougyoku could tell that something was brewing just beneath the surface. Though she was not often found in war council meetings or any important meetings happening among the palace really, she was still quite aware of the tension that seemed to be increasing in the air with each passing day.

As a child, the princess often snuck around the passageways of the studies within the Kou palace to stay close to her older brother and listen to the calming sound of quill on parchment while he worked late into the night. Even as an adult with her brother often gone on campaigns, she is still comforted by the dusty bookcases that line the walls of each enclave as well as the rich scent of ink that seems to penetrate one's senses as soon as they enter the suite.

When she had awoken that morning, Kougyoku had decided she would do some research of her own to find out just what was going on within her home country. Though she was a member of the royal family by the blood of her father, the princess was still the daughter of a whore and as such she was not privy to such information as war plans or the like so she often had to snoop in order to find answers to her own questions.

With her nose buried deep within one of the many scrolls currently littering the large wooden desk at the front of the room, the princess was caught completely unaware as the sound of a familiar feminine voice reached her ears. She lifted her head just as her oldest living cousin Hakuei slowly made her way threw the entrance of the study before softly replying to the older woman's greeting with a polite smile.

"No not at all. Feel free to stay as long as you like."

Supposedly Simple Greetings {open}

      ❁ℋakuei dismounted her horse in one swift motion, her armor and clothing rustling about her as she did so. It may have been strange to say, but that very sequence of sounds, accompanied by the noise her shoes made as they came in contact with the dirt of the Kou Empire’s own palace grounds, was soothing to her.

     Yes, the Kou Empire palace was practically a hornet’s nest waiting to implode at any moment, but to her it was still home. It was much more of a relief to dismount in a familiar place than in a camp out on the battlefield. One of the many attendants of the palace approached her and retrieved her horse before she continued on ahead of her cavalry, her pace brisk. It would be most ideal if she could reach her room before having to speak to anyone. With tensions high, lines being drawn, and those same lines being crossed, there was no telling what she would get herself into by just one measly conversation.

      But then again, perhaps she was overthinking things. She tended to speculate quite a bit, after all. It was for these brief second thoughts that she paused by the door of one of the many studies of the palace, cracked open ever so slightly to indicate its use. She peered inside slightly, only catching a faint glimpse of the figure within, and gave a quiet sigh. What could it hurt to simply say hello? After all, her footsteps must have certainly given her away by now, anyway.

      "Greetings. I hope you don’t mind if intrude for a bit," she called out to the person in the study, swinging the door open and stepping inside ever so slightly.

[therubyofkou]

At the sound of the king's chuckle, Kougyoku's face was somehow able to turn three shades darker than before. Red hot embarrassment continued to warm her pink cheeks. How could she have been so foolish as to leave her room in such a state, and in the middle of the day no less? She must be a sight. Kougyoku groaned internally at the thought. 

"It was nothing you need concern yourself with and I wouldn't want to trouble you, b-but thank you for the kind offer your majesty."

The princess was certain that the reigning king of Sindria had much more important things to deal with then comforting her after a bad dream, how childish could she be? From what little information she possessed about the layout of the palace, Sinbad was most likely heading to the library just down the hall to work. This alone gave her even more courage to politely decline the king's offer as she began to compose herself once more, though Kougyoku craved his company above any other.

As Sinbad offered again to see her to her room personally, the princess was at a loos as to how to reject him a second time without coming across rude. Just the thought of Sinbad escorting her back to her bedchambers in nothing but her nightgown to conceal her modesty left the princess with warmth she couldn't identify blooming within her. Kougyoku began to lose what little composure she had left, heat spreading across her cheeks once more as she tried to search her mind for some kind of reply that wouldn't offend the king before her and would keep her from embarrassing herself even more.

"I-I wouldn't want to trouble you further. I'm sure you have much more important things to attend to."

Midnight Mischeif || Sinbad

Sinbad blinked and looked at the beautiful Princess before him. He wasn’t expecting her to be still in her bed clothes at all. He would have thought that she would have been up and dressed by now! Well, she was dressed just not in her usual attire…

He chuckled and paid not much attention to how she was looking anyway! In normal situations, the clothing would have been removed anyway. She must have been in a rush or had been in some sort of disturbance for her to come running out in a hurry and still in her bed clothes. 

"Were you disturbed? Did something frighten you? I wouldn’t mind coming to inspect the problem?"

Sinbad wanted to help her as much as he could so that he could continue on with his research. As sneaky as it sounds, matters had to be done and they had to be dealt with quickly before The Summit could begin. It was weeks away and things had to be done very quickly before Kouen could start opening his big mouth and end up winning, which is what Sinbad did not want at all. 

He noticed the blush on her cheeks increasing with every syllable and stutter that came out of the Princess’ mouth. It was cute, but nothing to honestly grab her and whisk her away to the bedroom.

"If you are still tired, Princess Kougyoku, I will happily escort you back to your chambers and make sure there are no further disturbances."

[therubyofkou]

At hearing her name being called by her eldest brother, Kougyoku couldn't conceal the small squeak that slipped from her throat from the shock. She really shouldn't be surprised that he had been able to spot her since he had always had an uncanny ability to always know when she was eavesdropping or simply trying to sneak away unnoticed from early on in her childhood to the present. It was always kind of comforting to know that at least someone within the palace was aware of her presence even if sometimes it was met with annoyance, it was better than not being noticed at all.

The princess made to straighten her dress hastily before emerging from behind the safety of the wall with a sheepish expression upon her face. She slowly made her way over to her brother with her eyes firmly glued to the golden lions head positioned at the center of his waist that partly secured his royal attire as she grew nearer. Still a bit flustered from being discovered, Kougyoku peeked up at him meeting his bored stare before addressing him shyly.

"Hello brother."

The words were barely above a whisper and the princess bit her lip hesitantly, not sure whether she should keep speaking or wait for her brother to respond. Kougyoku decided to venture further and inquire as to why there were some many unexpected guests among the palace halls before an awkward silence could fall over the two.

"Is there a council meeting or dinner of some sort later this evening? I have passed by quite a few less than familiar faces this morning."

Visitors in the Kou Empire? | @Anyone

He had oticed that the persn who was invading his space was one of his sisters, Kougyoku. She had always been so shy, but he was fond of her. He was fond of all of his family, and even if he didn’t really treat them like he was, he did feel something for them, in a brotherly way of course. His eyes had remained upon her hiding spot, still eyeing up the hiding place that the girl had chosen. She seemed to enjoy hiding from him, didn’t she?

"You can come out now, Kougyoku."

Kouen’s expression still didn’t change around the girl, and how he spoke to her did seem rather sharp like he usually spoke to others, but he was still remaining calm and didn’t let this get to him. He would honestly prefer spending time with one of his younger sisters than speak to a bunch of foreigners within the walls of their very own Palace. His eyes remained to stare there as he patiently waited for her to leave the spot, reveling herself from behind the wall. He knew she was there. He always did know where Kougyoku was hiding, because it was what she had always did.

The Prince then wondered what it was that she wanted, and if it was actually important for him to know. There were many people around at the moment - many of them he didn’t know - so it would be a great help to him if she had told him about any troubles that she had spotted whilst he had been taking care of things in his study. He just wished that he moved quicker when reporting them.. If they were important that is.

[therubyofkou]

Kougyoku's voice trailed off as she stopped apologizing and just before the all-consuming embarrassment still soaring through her veins could stop her heart from beating, the kind words of the man seated beside her reached her pink tinted ears. Instead of the mocking scuff or condemning jab the princess had been expecting, an easygoing response was all that was given in return for Kougyoku's slip up. She let out a breathe she hadn't realized she'd been holding as tension seemed to melt from her shoulders. Her brothers had really been wrong about this man and if anything he was treating her better than they ever did.

She nodded softly to show she was listening and continued to be put at ease as the Heliohapt's soft tone of voice flowed over her, though Kougyoku caught only a word or two over the sound of her still thrumming pulse. She couldn't help but continue to feel a tad embarrassed by her failed attempt at making the crown of flowers in her lap. Nevertheless, she slowly lifted her hands from her thighs in hope that the gesture would show Sharrkan that she had heeded his advice and was willing to reveal what she had created, as bad as it was, to him without worry of judgement or ridicule.

Soon she was able to meet the other's eyes once more with a small smile upon her lips as she grew more comfortable in his presence. As her cheeks returned to their natural hue, the princess continued to collect herself and slow her breathing as well. Then Kougyoku blinked for a moment as she rewound the bits and pieces of what she had been able to hear from Heliohapt and suddenly gasped in awe as she turned to face him.

"Did you say you can forge swords?!"

The princess could do little to keep the excitement from her voice at learning such a fact. She highly respected any man or woman who knew how to wield a sword, or in this case forge one. This was not to say she had never seen the Heliohapt with a sword within his grasp whilst in Sindria, because she had, just that the new knowledge that this man was not only a revered swordsman, but also able to create such weapons with his own hands was quite...alluring.

Such a profession was hard on the hands as working metal in the embers of a fire and the hard surface of a hammer was not at all forgiving on weak human flesh, or so she would assume. As her mind continued to wander down that train of though, Kougyoku couldn't stop her gaze from trailing down to Sharrkan's hands, which as she had expected, wore the callouses of a great warrior.

Kougyoku mind wandered further then without her permission. Though she too wielded a sword when she and Vinea joined in battle, the princess took great care in keeping her hands soft to the touch - by the use of expensive lotions and oils - just as every princesses' hands should be. But this did little to stop the curiosity that began to tease her fingertips as she suddenly craved to learn the texture of the Heliohapt's hands with her own. She could only helplessly imagine the feeling of his fingers anywhere upon her and what kind of art the contrast between his sun-kissed skin and her own pale would create.

Heat rushed to her cheeks in a full blaze as if it had never left and Kougyoku searched her brain fruitlessly for something, anything to take her mind of such impure thoughts. The princess' eyes shifted over to her own fingers as she started to play with her hair in an attempt to silence her mind and occupy her hands, pointedly not making eye contact with the man beside her.

The Sindrian Gardens

{✘} He had noticed the way she had reacted to him as he spoke to her, becoming stiffened up instantly when he had got near her. There were rumours about his people that were going around and they weren’t true. In fact Sharrkan was pretty much the only person in his Kingdom who had bad habits, or at least his family. It was why he was banished after all.. Well he was banished before that, meeting Sinbad was the thing that caused him to get these habits. This is how he understood why she was so suspicious of him, so he paid it no mind. Instead, he listened to her words and replied to them normally. It was a good thing he could act in a way that would keep the situation calm, that’s for sure!

“Nah, it’s no trouble at all! Don’t think that.”

Sharrkan was wondering whether or not she was used to this, considering that she had often been seen alone. He wasn’t going to ask her though because it was a pretty touchy subject for anyone. Instead, he watched her reaction to his words and laughed slightly. What a cute reaction! Though, she shouldn’t hide what she was proud of and Sharrkan always thought like that. He never hid the fact that he was a swordsman or anything like that, but this was different right? She was a girl, and making flower crowns was normal for her to do! Alibaba on the other hand.. He may have to have some words with his student about his sexuality…

“Hey, don’t be ashamed of that alright? If you like doing it then be proud of it. Don’t hide it from people, alright?”

He smiled to her as he spoke to her, watching her look at him. He wasn’t judgemental towards her at all. The only thing he didn’t like was Magic, but anything else he wasn’t too bothered about. People had their own hobbies and things that they liked to do and that was that. People who judge someone based on their hobbies sucked ass, even if he was like that towards Yamuraiaha… Though he had his reasons for that.

“Alibaba did huh?” Sharrkan listened to what she was saying, noticing that she was getting carried away, but hey that was cool. Sharrkan had all day to listen to her. “You made dolls huh? I can’t really make anything, though I’m pretty good at forging swords, but I guess that comes with the profession huh?”

He then noticed her become embarrassed by what she had done, cutting off there and then with that conversation, which caused him to laugh a little. She was being adorable, but shy girls like her were always adorable. He didn’t mind listening to other people’s childhoods or pasts, Sharrkan just never liked speaking about his. He tilted his head before replying to her again, pointing out that he didn’t mind.

“Hey, you can talk about anything with me, because I’ll sit here and listen alright?”

He didn’t speak like a Prince, but then again he never really felt the need to do so. When he was a child before Sinbad found him he was a Prince-like person. A person who thought that there wasn’t a world beyond the Palace due to him not being allowed to leave. There was a lot going on back then that changed his life for good, but he’s really glad that he had left, even if he did miss some people from there. This was probably why he was so.. accepting? It was because he hadn’t seen much until the outside world came and got him, that and life’s too short to be fussy towards people for their likes. Again, Yamuraiha is someone who has exceptions.

“You don’t need to apologise. It’s cool.”

Sharrkan heard her apologise to him and act in a different way to what she just was. Was this because she was taught not to by her Palace? Stuff like this did kind of annoy him, but he didn’t show or nor blame her for it. It was forced upon them all and he had his sympathies for her. He smirked at her as he spoke to her, replying to her again.

“Just remember that none of your family are here, so relax a little alright?”

[therubyofkou]